Nero was drenched in rat blood and bits of bone and flesh, once again. How many rats did they kill today? A hundred? Felt like a thousand. His arms were heavy.

"We should head back up and find a good spot to rest," Altia suggested.

Nero sighed, then collected the Essence crystal after the rat dissolved enough. At least the motes of light blinded him from the gore underneath the body. He didn't even need to check with his Arbitrium. Rats were levels one through four and the crystals were easy to discern.

The sounds of battle were fewer now. The two were going to be the last to get out today. It also meant they would be able to rest without much fear of being ambushed. By people, they meant. The rats were not stealthy and didn't wander too much. It was uncommon but their luck was bad. Not only they didn't earn any Accolades, that wasn't a surprise, but they got only one [Egress]. A larger party or one with less cohesion would already be flaking. Killing someone in their sleep was easy enough.

He wasn't worried about Altia hurting him while they rested. If anything, he was worried if he could hold back with her sleeping so close to him. But he knew he would never lay a finger on her against her will. She was too precious to waste with these base impulses. Fighting his hormones, they finally climbed the tunnels back to a place where they could rest. Twelve more level 1 rats crossed their path but by now it was almost second nature to fight them.

On the second-to-last rat, they got a pleasant surprise.

"A green card!" Nero exulted.

"Oh, what is it?"

Nero checked the card. It was a piece of equipment. "[Targe of Blocking] - Shield. Requires level 2. +3 to Dexterity and Vigor when blocking."

"That's something. We can set it aside for trading."

"You take it. Nineteen more to get your Class card."

"Thank you," Atia took the card and stowed it in her belt.

She bit her lower lip and sighed behind Nero's back. That he had one avenue for advancing was a blessing, but it was a very expensive one. Nobles hoarded those rare Anima crystals, anything rare for the matter. At least they didn't make it mandatory to sell but the prices were enticing. Adventurers might not know the value of their goods, but they knew the cost very well, a reality she was coming to understand in the flesh.

At least the healing potions took care of the wounds before scars could form, she mused and glanced at the gash on her leather pants.

They reached a high tunnel, almost at the same height as the entrance room. In this cavern complex, it was true they were veritably lost. That was irrelevant as far as delving was concerned. They just had to go down if they wanted to find the boss or up if they wanted easier monsters. There was no way to get out besides a [Egress] card anyway. At least the boss was a guaranteed drop. Not that the couple had any hope of killing the level 7 Goblin Rogue. There was some randomness to its Attributes but the Skills were perfect for what it did. Murder.

Just the thought of the greenskin backstabbing Altia made his blood boil. He looked at her. She was trying to smooth a place for sleeping but the floor was irregular.

"I don't think a single blanket will be enough to stop the rocks from poking us," She mused. "Should we double down?"

"Uh?" His worries of getting murdered by psychopathic assassins deep down under the earth were broken. "Double down?"

"Yes. We have two blankets. We could put them over one another, it would be less... rocky."

Nero nodded. "Then we take turns keeping watch and sleeping. Nice."

Altia puckered her lips, "I was thinking, with the blankets underneath us, we are bound to be cold. And whoever was keeping watch would be either standing up or sitting on hard rocks. We could share!"

He thought of that, but he couldn't be the one proposing. He feared being seen as some kind of pervert. "You wouldn't mind?"

"Are you thinking of doing something indecent with me?" She asked coyly.

Nero should've smelled the trap but he was more than a bit wet behind his ears. "No," he lied.

Altia looked disappointed for a moment but then smiled. "They it is fine. I trust you. Set your pack on the back, come and sit. We should eat."

The upside of farming that many rats were that they'd replaced all the cards they used and obtained enough provisions for two days. Nero pulled a [Ale Keg] card. Gray quality. As one Adventurer joke went, that ale tasted like piss and the Dungeon only had rats and goblins. The name of the game was to identify who it was. It still quenched thirst and beggars couldn't be choosers. He was saving the [Canteen] cards as the keg had more liquid. He slotted the card and the Keg came into being, complete with wooden tap. Altia summoned two bowls of [Chiken Soup], more broth and very little chicken along with some floating unidentified bits that felt like gristle that boiled for a week. The soup tasted as someone made it with river water taken a couple yards down from where the matrons washed clothes.

That was a reason provision cards weren't expensive, at least the gray-quality ones. However, they were awfully convenient. A full meal for two, the weight of three cards. These factors balanced each other. As the quality improved, the costs rose. As always, any food card graded blue or above was the domain of Nobility. As the summoned food was never poisoned or the card would say so, there was a tale of one King that only ate summoned food. By the end of the saga, he died because someone slipped a [Poisoned Roasted Fowl] card into his server's repertoire, and the King never checked the cards. Nero doubted such a card existed, but it was just one bard's song.

They ate and then Altia pulled some clothes from the bottom of her pack. A linen dress, shirt, and trousers. "We should change. I don't want to clean bloodstains from the blankets."

Nero swallowed, then stood up. "I'm going to toss the bowls down a tunnel while you change."

For a moment he thought Altia was displeased but then she nodded. He went down the tunnel and back after waiting for a few minutes. He needed a pocket clock. Maybe he should've demanded one from Glom. On his turn to change, Altia didn't go too far away but diligently watched the camp. Then the two laid side-by-side on the blankets. It was awkward because they were made for a single person but after some struggle playing a game of entangled limbs that resembled one with colored circles, they settled down.

"I get the first watch," She said. I have a point in Endurance and you were fighting melee most of the time."

Nero nodded. They touched lips and he soon was dozing off. Altia kept watch like a hawk but it wasn't the tunnel she was focused on. He woke up with the girl shaking him. He moved around, touched something soft, had his hand swatted away and came awake.

"Good morning. Is it time for my watch?"

The girl felt warm. If only they weren't surrounded by ravenous murder rodents...

"Yes. I'd like to rest for a while."

Nero reached for his sword and pulled it to his side. "Go ahead. I'm rested enough."

She made some cute noises, nested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Her breath tickled his neck and triggered all kinds of strange but pleasant sensations on the young ape-kin. Nero couldn't even move for fear of waking her up. And now that he was self-conscious of their situation, he couldn't even dream of sleeping. He was fully alert. All he could do was shift his head a bit so he could see her face and the tunnel extending past their feet.

"Good dreams, my dearest."

He saw she seemed already deeply asleep. He was amused, he always pictured her as a light sleeper. Altia's arm lashed out and grabbed his shoulder. She kept firmly latched to him and he could swear she had a smile on her face. Deep sleeper and grabby. The feeling wasn't bad.

The next "morning", Altia shook him awake. They split their resting period into four parts and alternated. Nero's left arm was still sleeping and it stung as the blood flowed back to it. Altia looked apologetic but he didn't say a word as he spun the arm around and kept opening and closing his hand to pump blood.

"I guess we should change back to our armor," He said. "It would be terrible to ruin these clothes fighting."

There was a reason armor cards were valued higher than weapons. Not only they dropped with less frequency, but the feeling of donning a brand new armor that was custom-tailored to oneself should also be very good. And since it would disappear after the Delve, you didn't have to repair it.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked. "I have this tendency to hug my pillow when I sleep and--"

"No, it is fine," He picked his bucker and swung it around, punching the air with the small metal shield. "See? FIne. It was pleasant to have you with me."

Her cheeks blushed. "You change first. I'll watch the tunnel."

Altia went down with heavier steps than usual. Nero wondered what was wrong but he knew he'd never find out. He changed into his threadbare and disgusting set of armor, taking care to adjust and tug to test the straps so the thing wouldn't fall off at the worst moment. After folding his new clothes and one of the blankets and preparing his pack, He went to where Altia was and she avoided his gaze, turning the other way and retreating to get herself ready.

"Are you okay?" He asked when she got back.

"Yes, why?"

Altia was being aloof, out of character. She was avoiding his eyes.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Gods, no! You were a gentleman. Why do you think that? Did I hurt you?"

He smiled to hide his worries. "No. I got to learn a lot about you and despite the terrible hosting conditions, it was very good."

"Then it is fine. I have no complaints. Should we head out to work?"

"Yes, let's massacre rats. Our initiation ordeal."

"Sounds fine to me."

They say that killing a hundred of something is a hecatomb. They reached that mark once more in this new "day" of delving and then paused to rest. There were no more Delvers but they found some people bones, scratched by the chewing rodents. The remains of what once was an Arbitrium, broken and also gnawed on were on a nook of the wall. They salvaged some cards, noting of note, but the ravenous rodents left not much untouched. Nero also took the ruined device. Maybe they could identify the owner or salvage some parts.

Nero looked at his partner for solace, but the girl's face was already showing hints of despair. His silver lining was exactly silver. The only [Egress] card they got safely inside her device, only waiting for a mental command to activate and get her out to safety. The mood was heavy and they had to stop for another meal. He checked on his gear during the break.

"I think I'll have to summon another [Sword]. This one is dented, caked, and already blunt in some spots."

Sympathetic, Altia went around to massage his shoulders.

"Can you go on?"

"Of course. The alternative is to give up."

"We'll skip delving tomorrow. We deserve some rest. Weary adventurers die faster."

Nero sighed and checked the device. Without the owner to provide magical power, the contraption's minute gears and wires didn't work. It was a unique and perhaps macabre opportunity to glimpse inside one of these marvels of magical engineering. Curiosity satisfied, he held Altia's hands to stop her.

"Would you like a massage too?"

"Yes, but you won't touch me there now," She said casually.

Nero froze, a billion possibilities running through his mind, too much for someone that only had less than two square yards of skin. His face went white, then red, then a deeper shade of red. He turned around to look at her and she suddenly became psychic.

"No!" She hurriedly dismissed his wandering thoughts and eyes, covering herself with her hands protectively. "My feet! My feet hurt from all the walking but they are smelly. I won't make you touch my feet."

"Oh, okay," He sighed in relief.

She pushed him away and teased. "Where exactly were you hoping to touch me?"

"No idea. Seriously, my mind just froze trying to figure out what you meant. Too many possibilities," he dismissed.

A couple places were considered more than others but he wasn't lying.

She leaned forward and narrowed her eyelids. "I see. Too many possibilities."

He was astonished by her ability to turn everything and anything he said against him. The only defense he knew was to go on the offense.

"Look, I don't mind. It is not the time for games, we're in the middle of a dungeon," He stated, then ordered rather than request, bossy. "Sit down, take off your boots, let's check your feet. I'll wrap a wet cloth around my face so you don't have to worry about the smell. It could be bad if your feet are hurt."

He was expecting her to fight back. But she just smiled full of mirth and obediently sat down on a rock formation before lifting a boot. "As you command, the valiant party leader."

Nero gave up all hope of understanding women. He undid the knots and pulled her boots, forgetting about the wet cloth. Truly enough, the accumulated sweat and grime that found their way down her legs was wafting a killer stench. He winced but endured. Nero was a person that saw through what he proposed himself to do. Altia's feet delicate had lots of bruises, blisters, and bubbles.

"That's bad. No delving for us tomorrow or maybe the week," he stated. "I'll have to pop these bubbles. Let's make a fire."

They found another dead end and made camp about fifty paces from the end of the tunnel. One would point that making a fire in an airtight enclosure was a bad idea and they would be correct. However, they would put out the fire soon enough and the Dungeon had some way to refresh air, otherwise, all the living monsters would suffocate. Nero heated a needle and then poked the bubbles on Altia's feet. Summoning a [Canteen], he poured some water to wash the foot and after drying it with the new trousers he slept in, he ripped off the sleeves of the shirt and bound her feet.

"it will be tight in your boots but bear with it. We should go to the healer to get proper treatment." He met her eyes, she had a warm smile. Nero put the boots back in place and then remembered. "Sorry, I forgot about the massage. But it is better if we don't push your skin too hard. Another thing we need to get, better and more socks. You should change them after each break."

"What about you?"

He shook his head. "I've been running around and stepping on everything barefoot since I was a tyke. My feet are sturdy enough. And yours, they're too pretty to get full of calluses."

She giggled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. It is my job as a 'party leader' to care for my teammates."

She punched his arm. "Not that!"

Altia got annoyed at his comment for some reason. Nero just nodded. His first impulse was to apologize but he did nothing wrong. That he knew.

Nero [0/0]

Strength: +1

Reason: +1

Perception: +1

Altia [2/179]

Endurance: +1

Dexterity: +1

Willpower: +1